Scars
by Shadowfire-X
Summary: Shadowfire is captured and tortured by Mavericks. Will X and Zero find him in time? sequel to The Beginning


Scars  
  
June 7, 2125  
  
I checked out of work at the main desk, and walked outside. Soldiers were marching outside in the summer sun. A cool breeze kept the air at a pleasant eighty degrees. It was about five in the afternoon.  
Birds twittered as I entered the thick forest. Lost in thought, I continued deeper into the foliage. There were no paths to follow. No signs of civilization. For that reason, the forest was one of my favorite places.  
The birds suddenly fell quiet. The buzzing insects stopped. The atmosphere suddenly felt crushing, suffocating. Something was wrong. A twig snapped somewhere to my right. I whirled to face the sound, but saw nothing but green. There was a light "choomph" sound, like air being released from something. Something stuck into the right leg of my unarmored body. A roar of surprise escaped me as I started to run. But, my legs felt heavy as lead, stiff, numb. The sensation spread to my waist and chest, then my arms. Grey spots slid across my vision. My eyelids started to close. So heavy... everything was so heavy... Needed rest... The world spun, and turned black.  
  
***  
  
The first clue that I was alive was pain. A dull ache throbbed behind my eyes. I tried to move, but something held me down. Opening my eyes confirmed my fears. Heavy straps kept me firmly against a metal table. A Reploid with light gray hair and a white lab coat stood over me. None other than the infamous Maverick, Dr. Doppler.  
"My my," he mused. "You are a fascinating specimen. I'd love to be able to study you, but you seem impossible to analyze. That leaves you with a grim future. You've slaughtered hundreds of our troops in battle. It's time for payback." Doppler filled a large syringe with a pale green liquid.  
"This is a wonderful chemical, it super enhances sensitivity to pain and surrounding temperature. It will also greatly suppress your pyrokinetic abilities. It needs a test subject. We're going to have a wonderful time with you. Sadly, it takes three doses to get the full effects, and it wears off in 24 hours. Poor you." The five-inch needle grew closer, closer to my exposed chest. Doppler felt along my ribs with his fingers. My heart was pounding, fluttering like a caged bird. My eyes grew wide as the needle plunged between my ribs. The cold metal pierced my racing heart. The stabbing pain made me grit my teeth. The burning agony of the chemical being injected was even worse. The second and third injections forced screams out of me.  
A pair of guards dragged me away, down a dank stone corridor lined with barred cells. Most of the cells had corpses in them, covered in cuts and bruises. Or at least, if they were alive, I certainly couldn't tell.  
The sound of a cracking whip split the silence, followed by a scream. I was thrown into an empty cell. Seven feet of chains cuffed to my ankles and wrists made sure that I wouldn't be able to reach my whole arm through the bars. The floor felt colder than ice because of the chemical. A few bits of metal and wire lay on the floor, remnants of the cell's last occupant. One of my "escorts" turned to a Maverick that appeared to be the head guard.  
"Better 'baptize' him, Leo." 'Leo' was tall and slender. Not skinny, but lithe, like some sort of cat. A pair of whips were strapped to his black armor, and his red eyes glittered dangerously.  
Leo smiled in anticipation as the other guards left, drawing one of his whips. He snapped it a couple times in the air, and my body shuddered at the sound. If he was trying to scare me, it was working. Seeing as my tank top had been torn off, my black jean shorts probably wouldn't provide much protection.  
Leo opened the cell door, and stepped in. I stood facing him. Surely I could stand up to a lashing...  
"Oh, a brave one, I see," he smirked. "You'll break just like everyone else." He raised the whip, and brought it down in a terrible arc. There was a loud snap. The lash cut a line down my chest. Black vital fluids bled out slowly. The word "pain" could not begin to describe the sensation.  
The whip came down again, and again, and soon I was on my knees. The lash cut into my bare back, ripped up the delicate membranes in my wings. When Leo finally stopped, I was lying on the floor, crying, hoping to God it was just a nightmare, and that daddy would soon come and wake me up. But there was no "awakening", only the pain, and the warmth of my own fluids covering my back.  
Leo finally stopped. He laughed as he exited the cell, and locked it again.  
"Now," he began, "if I hear so much as a whimper from you, I'll come in there and beat you quiet!" I silenced myself, in fear of more pain. Sleep, perhaps I could escape through sleep. Quietly, I curled up in the corner, and started to doze off. Slumber had nearly come when Leo hit me hard on the left shoulder with a metal club. I jerked to my senses, and yelped in pain.  
"You're not allowed to sleep yet," he growled. Not allowed to sleep? Surely, this was the end.  
  
***  
  
Morning came. I don't know how I knew, seeing as there were no windows to the outside world, but I could feel it, somehow.  
A pair of guards opened my cell door, and I tried to run between them, tried to escape. They caught me by the arms and dragged me, kicking and screaming, back into Doppler's lab. Another round of injections, and I was thrown back into my cell.  
I was hungry, and thanks to the injections, I didn't just get a little stomachache, rather, horrible cramping pains. Looking around the stone cell for something edible, I spotted only some little green plants growing through cracks in the walls. Leo wasn't looking. I plucked some leaves from the plants, and ate them. The leaves were bitter, but it was something. Now there was need for something to drink. Water dripped from a crack in the ceiling. I cupped my hands to gather some, and then drank the minute amount I had managed to get.  
Leo turned around, forcing me to halt my activities. He was smiling wickedly. Apparently, it was time for another beating. This time he pulled out not a whip, but a large, sharp-looking knife.  
I shrank back as he entered the cell. He kicked me in the side, sending me sprawling on the floor. The blade plunged through my left shoulder, miraculously not hitting any bones. I couldn't even scream as he tore the knife out, and thrust it through my abdomen. Pain overwhelmed me, and sent me reeling into unconsciousness.  
  
***  
  
Leo readied his whips. It had been a week since my capture. The whip cut a line down the right side of my face, over my right eyelid, down to my chin. Another snap, and it drew another bleeding line across the left side of my neck. I felt nothing. I didn't care. There was no pain, no coldness, no fear of death. Rather, I was hoping for death. An end, a way out. It now seemed like death was the only way out.  
A flash of black scales and glowing red eyes went through my mind. A monster awakened inside me. The monster didn't like being beaten...  
The whip came down again, and I caught it in my teeth, growling savagely. Leo looked startled. I grabbed the big knife from a sheath on his waist, and started stabbing. I kept stabbing until I lost count, and black fluids splattered my body. The cell door was still open. Guards were rushing in. I extended my claws, and bared my fangs.  
  
** Zero **  
  
I neared the small Maverick facility with a rescue squad. X had wanted to come, but he had been ordered by Signas to stay behind. After all, it had taken us a week to find the place, and Shadowfire was probably dead by now.  
An ion cannon was fired, and it blasted down the outer wall. The squad rushed in through the opening, into a sort of prison area. The bars on one of the cells were all torn apart, and a guard lay dead inside. More bodies were strewn about. All of them had been messily torn apart, like some wild animal had mauled them.  
A trail of black circulatory fluids led down the hallway. We followed it into a control room, careful not to step on the corpses littering the floor.  
The equipment in the room was smashed up. In the middle of the floor was Shadowfire. He was a whimpering, crying heap, covered in his own vital fluids, and that which he spilled. Curled up, I could see his spine pressing against the skin of his back, as well as his ribs. He had been starved, as well as beaten.  
A pair of medics approached him, but he backed away. The head medic, Eric, came toward him slowly. Shadowfire growled weakly, and backed up to the metal wall. He dashed around Eric, and nearly got away. I grabbed him, and forced him to the floor. It was hard to hold onto him, His skin was slick with fluids and sweat. He kicked and struggled as Eric injected him with something. Shadowfire stopped fighting, and grew still, his breathing slow, and heavy. I could still hear him crying weakly.  
I followed the medical staff into the back of an ambulance. Shadowfire had been strapped down. One of the nurses stroked Shadowfire's hair soothingly, but he only snarled in reply. Her hand quickly drew back.  
  
**Shadowfire**  
  
A week after my rescue, I finally regained consciousness. Exhaustion had put me to sleep... for a week. I was both relieved and very unpleased about where I awakened. Intensive Care. I was still groggy, and in pain. There were wires attached to my chest, scalp, and abdomen, measuring vital signs. There was an IV in my left arm as well. Looking into a nearby mirror, I fought the urge to gasp. My face was thin and pale, sickly- looking. The lash mark on the right side of my face had formed a jagged scar.  
"That will never heal," a familiar voice stated. I turned to face Gate. "Neither will that one on the left side of your neck," he continued. "The ones on your back, chest, and shoulders are gone already, your body is still working on the stab wounds. They had become infected, so they will take awhile. As for your two new scars... they will never disappear. Your healing is strongly affected by willpower. When those wounds were inflicted, you must have had no will to live." Gate drew closer, and fear filled me. I could hear the beeping of the heart monitor speeding up. I didn't want anyone near me.  
"Don't come any closer," I said in little more than a harsh whisper.  
"You're going to need a lot of therapy, mostly in the psychological area," Gate sighed, coming closer. With every step he took, the fear grew. I jerked to the side, falling off the bed. Scrambling to a corner, I tried to stay away from Gate. He would hurt me. They would all hurt me.  
As I moved, the wires were pulled from my body, and the IV came out of my arm. The heart monitor flat lined, all its wires disconnected. Alarms started sounding, and medics rushed in. They were all out to get me! They would beat me, had to get away! But there were no windows, the door was covered. I was trapped. No, no, I couldn't be trapped!  
Standing up, even slowly, it hurt to move. I charged forward, trying to escape. There were too many, though, and they overpowered me. Their hands gripped my body tightly, and it hurt. Everything hurt. They held me to the bed and strapped me down, then started putting wires back on. Kicking and jerking, I tried to make them stop, cried out for them to stop.  
Gate approached with a loaded syringe. The pain enhancers, I couldn't let them inject it, I couldn't! The harder a fought, the harder they held me down. Gate grabbed my arm with his free hand.  
"No! No! Don't hurt me anymore!"  
"Hold still!" Gate yelled. "I'm not trying to hurt you!"  
"Liar. LIAR! You just wanna make it hurt worse!" The needle stuck into my arm. My fangs stuck into Gate's hand as he injected the contents of the syringe. He winced, and then cringed as I bit down harder. A wave of calmness washed over me suddenly. The medics pulled me off of Gate, and I didn't fight them. Why had I fought them in the first place? I couldn't seem to remember, sedatives coursing through me. Ah hell, why fight at all? It was all fine and good... Yeah, everything was fine...  
  
***  
  
Slowly, I peeked into Signas's office. He was sitting at his desk, looking out the window. When he turned his head, he noticed me.  
"Come in," he requested. I opened the door, and stepped into the room, holding some rolled-up papers under my right arm. I had bought a large piece of land about thirty miles from Headquarters, and I had plans for it.  
"My," he started, "after three weeks in the hospital wing, you sure seem to have recovered nicely. What was it you wanted to see me about?"  
"Well," I began, "I'd like to borrow some construction droids from the base. I have a project, and most of the things seem to just be collecting dust."  
"Quite," Signas mused. "What kind of project did you need them for?" Slowly, I handed him the rolled-up papers. He opened them up on his desk to see the blueprints for a house, a very large one.  
"I see," Signas began. "Stone structure reinforced with an inner mesh of Duranium alloy. Duranium is rather rare, and very expensive. With your salary, the mass quantities of stone won't be a problem. But, that much good Duranium would cost well over two billion dollars."  
"Unless I mine and refine it myself." Signas looked a bit surprised for a moment. "I know we're in the middle of a very large wildlife refuge, I don't intend to hire a bunch of smoke-belching strip-mining equipment. No explosives, either."  
"How do you intend to obtain such mass quantities of Duranium, then?" Signas asked curiously.  
"I found some on the property," I stated. Signas looked a bit surprised.  
"Very well," he said. "You may borrow ten construction droids of your choice. Good luck with your project."  
  
***  
  
I sat on a boulder at the edge of the clearing. I had installed the building schematics into the droids, and they were busily digging out the basement. The work was very fast, they had the entire basement area dug out in twenty minutes. But now, they needed the Duranium to continue. Most conveniently, that had been taken care of beforehand. The day after I had purchased the land, Several tons of Duranium mesh had just appeared in the clearing. No ships or transportation equipment had been detected in that area. I had simply decided to take advantage of the situation.  
  
***  
  
Piece by piece, stone by stone, I watched the house go up. In two months it was finished. Four stories tall, each story forty feet from floor to ceiling. The two basement levels were each twenty feet tall. The entire house was wired with security features. Motion-detecting ion turrets hidden within the walls. Break-in alarms on doors and windows.  
I stepped into the living room. A large fireplace was against one wall. A couch and chair faced it, while another couch and chair faced a giant-screen TV. I walked up the marble stairs, past the second story guest floor, into the third floor. In the center of the room was a shiny black grand piano. On the velvet-covered bench was a black violin with silver trim. My salary allowed it, so why not?  
I went up to the fourth floor, my bedroom floor. The four-post bed had a frame hand-carved of walnut, and stained to a fine finish. The pillows had red satin covers, and the crimson sheets were purest silk. I ran my hand over the sheets, enjoying the cool, soft feeling of the silk against my fingertips.  
On the east and west walls were great glass doors, leading out to sweeping balconies. I stepped out onto the west balcony, into the cool evening air. The sun was setting, bleeding hues of scarlet and gold into the wispy clouds.  
About fifty feet away from the balcony was a dead redwood trunk, reaching over two hundred feet. Taller than the house. Over many years, green vines had crept up the bark of the tree, all the way to the very top. The vines were covered with brilliant red rose blooms.  
Tired, I went back inside, closed the heavy curtains, tossed off my shoes, and flopped into bed.  
  
***  
  
Looking at myself, I saw silver, smooth, diamond-shaped scales. My hands were tipped with sharp black claws. Huge wings spread at my back. I was a dragon? What a strange dream. The second I realized it was a dream, it ended.  
Sitting up in bed, I looked around. That dream. I had been having it ever since I had gotten out of the hospital wing.  
It was still dark, and there was a tapping on the east balcony door. Something undid the latch, and pushed the doors open. A rustling of wings, and a large, black crow perched on my nightstand. I waved my hand at it.  
"Get out of here, shoo," I muttered. It wasn't even fazed. It sat there, blinking at me with dark brown eyes. I tried to push it away, but it just flew back and perched again. It cawed loudly, and I noticed that there was something tied to its right leg with a thin cord, like a piece of paper. The crow picked at the cord with its beak, and the knot came undone. I took the paper and unrolled it. Black ink spelled out a message in letters and words that I had never seen before. Yet, somehow, I could read it.  
  
Shadowfire,  
  
I've been watching over you. You seem to be gaining power very  
rapidly. There are places you have never imagined, things you have  
only seen in your dreams. I've watched you, and you've seemed so  
lost. You've been wondering why you changed so much at your 'birth'.  
Soon enough, I will show you the other part of your heritage.  
It would be most kind of you to give Loki a bit of food and  
water. I'm sure the trip has tired him out.  
  
No signature. How ominous.  
"Another part of my heritage?" I muttered. This was too weird. I looked at the crow, which was peering at me.  
"Loki, I presume?" I questioned. The bird cawed. Somehow I felt as if the person who had sent the letter, and the bird, could be trusted. Slowly, I stood up. The big crow flew up onto my shoulder, looking forward as I walked downstairs to the first floor. Loki shuffled a bit as I entered the big kitchen, as if he was expectant. There was plenty of food in the kitchen, but what was good to give to a crow? There was a sack of bread, and only the heel remained. I opened the bag, and pulled out the heel. Still soft.  
Loki tore a piece of the bread off, and swallowed it. He had soon finished the slice, and cawed gratefully, rubbing the side of his head against my cheek. I was starting to like the bird.  
  
***  
  
It had been a day, and still no word from the mystery letter writer. I was sitting on the couch when the phone rang. It was early, and I was tired. I picked it up anyway, though.  
"Hello?" I muttered sleepily. Gate's voice was on the other end.  
"Shadowfire, there was a Maverick riot in a small town about eighty miles away, the refugee facility is getting full. Most of the medics are already busy treating the injured soldiers who went in for the rescue. I know you're on vacation time, but we could really use your help down at refugee block six." He hung up without waiting for an answer. What did he want me to do? I had mostly been on the receiving end of medical treatment. Oh well, my duty to help.  
  
Refugee Block Six was almost completely full... of animals. Apparently, a lot of pets had been rescued, and were waiting to be reunited with their owners. Some of the critters were in need of medical attention.  
Gate rushed over to me, with a pair of scanning devices in his hand. He handed me one.  
"Every pet in here will have a microchip in or on it. If they're wearing a collar, it'll be in the collar, if not, then a microchip will be in the front left shoulder. Run the scanner over each animal, it will show the animal's name, blood-type, allergies, owner, owner's address, etc. I want you to identify the owner, then take the animal over to Refugee Block Five, the next building over. Find the owner in the building, and give them their pet." I raised a slight brow, and looker at the scanner. I was just glad I didn't really have to do anything medical.  
First was a large tropical parrot. There was a small metal band around its left leg. I ran the scanner over the band. It's name was Aloha, and it belonged to Kathy Martin. I placed the large bird on my shoulder armor, morphing away my wings and tail.  
Refugee Bock Five was filled with people of all ages. Most were sitting in chairs, or on the floor. Medical personnel swarmed around the place. I stopped one of the medics.  
"I need Kathy Martin?"  
"In the hospital area, back of the hall, room seventeen." I nodded, and entered the main hallway. At the end of the hall was the door to room seventeen. I knocked lightly before opening the door. A small blonde girl who looked about eight was laying in the hospital bed, a cast around her leg. She looked up at me and blinked slowly, frightened. Then she spotted the red and blue bird on my shoulder, and her eyes lit up. The bird shuffled a bit at the sight of its owner.  
"I think he'd like to say 'aloha' to you," I said. The girl smiled as I perched the bird on the bedrail. She ran her fingers softly down his feathers. The bird closed its eyes and rubbed into her hand, enjoying the attention. I headed towards the door, when the child's melodic voice rang out.  
"Thank you." I turned and smiled at the girl before returning to Block Six.  
  
***  
  
At last, it looked like the work was almost done. After several hours, only one animal was left in Block Six, a small, fluffy black kitten with golden eyes. It shrank back in its cage as I approached it. No collar. I tried running the scanner over it through the bars, and it had worked with all the other cats and dogs. But, the message that flashed on the scanner was "No chip detected." I turned to Gate.  
"This one doesn't have a microchip," I stated.  
"It's a stray," Gate muttered. "Take it to the gray building at the edge of the clearing to be exterminated." My stomach jerked. Exterminated?  
"Gate... it's... it's just a kitten."  
"Doesn't matter, that's the law. Why do you think there aren't any strays in the cities? Because it's illegal to have an unfixed dog or cat unless you are a licensed breeder, or unless the animal isn't old enough to be fixed. It's as simple as that." I looked at the tiny black ball of fur. It was wet, shivering, eyes big and frightened.  
"I can't," I muttered. "That seems like killing an orphaned baby just because it isn't wanted. I'm keeping it." Gate turned around and looked at the kitten.  
"That thing was the bane of the rescue team," he scoffed. "It's scared to death of everything, and bit anyone who picked it up." Slowly, I opened the cage door, and held out my gloved hand. The tiny kitten sniffed at my fingers, then looked up at me and mewed loudly. Gate looked surprised as the kitten rubbed against my hand, and I picked it up. It pressed its wet body into my breastplate, shivering and sneezing. So young, fragile, vulnerable... just like I was.  
Gate reached out to touch the kitten, but it raised its head, growling. It hissed loudly. Gate's hand drew back and I couldn't help but laugh.  
"I guess he thinks you're an asshole, too. Oh, by the way, it's illegal to kill an animal that belongs to someone. So, you touch this cat, I will grab my magnum, and I will shoot you in the ass." Gate smirked.  
"From the way you're talking, it sounds more like you'd devour me than shoot me." he stated.  
"I don't eat junk food," I teased, before leaving.  
  
***  
  
The little kitten, whom I had dubbed "Midnight", curled up in my lap, wrinkling the shorts I was wearing. The feline purred loudly as I stroked its soft fur. Midnight hissed suddenly, and ran into the kitchen. It just appeared before me suddenly. It looked like a young human man, but with skin so pale and smooth it almost seemed to glow. His lips were curled back, revealing pointed fangs. With incredible speed, he smashed me down into the floor. He grabbed a fistful of my hair, and pulled my head back, exposing my neck. Vampire? No way...  
I felt the sharp fangs pierce the right side of my neck, penetrating deeply. The stranger held his mouth around the open wound like a vice, sucking at it. He held me down, so I couldn't escape. The surroundings started to blur a bit. I could feel my hands making small convulsive movements, as the end of my tail writhed like a dying animal. Dying. Grey spots slid greasily across my vision. I couldn't breathe.  
There was an explosion sound, and the sucking at my neck stopped. My vision was bleary, but I could feel big, powerful arms lift me carefully off the floor. The world went black.  
  
***  
  
I rolled onto my side, eyes still closed. The bed was soft against my bare skin, and the sheet was smoother than silk. Something scaly brushed my cheek, and my eyes snapped open. Looking back were two golden eyes just like mine. They were on a lizard-like face covered with black scales. It was nearly twenty feet tall, but easily fit into the enormous marble room. Where was I? I pulled my attention back to the winged dragon- type thing. It spoke in a deep, but gentle voice, revealing sharp, dagger- like teeth.  
"Well, it looks as if I did get to you just in the nick of time," he stated. "That mad vampire nearly killed you." Vampire? I touched the side of my neck, and found that there were no marks from where the fangs had penetrated.  
"You've healed rather nicely," the dragon continued. "You've been sleeping for three days." Three days? The Hunters would be worried.  
"Where am I?" I questioned. "Who are you?"  
"You're in a realm parallel to the one you call home. I shifted you into this realm, so you'd be safe. By the way, thank you for taking care of Loki." A dim bulb brightened.  
"You wrote that letter, the one in that strange language."  
"Yes, I wrote the letter in Holy Draconian language, one that only Dragon Lords can understand."  
"That means... no, that's impossible."  
"It is not. Part of you is dragon. That 'strange energy' that changed you at activation, that was my magic. It saved you. I am Erebos, the Dragon Lord of Shadow, and, in part, your father." Finally, I understood what had happened to me.  
"That's also why I'm a pyrokinetic, isn't it? That's why I can control fire?"  
"Yes, but you can do so much more. Have you ever seen visions of silver scales, and a wild black mane?" Those very images flashed through my head at that moment. I closed my eyes, and could feel strange things happening. Silver scale designs appeared on my skin like some bizarre tattoo, then suddenly became 3D. I could feel my nose and mouth pushing outward, my teeth becoming pointed. Looking forward, I could see a black horn at the end of a dragon's snout. Muscles thickened and bulged, and there were several loud cracks as my bones rearranged themselves. Things shifted inside of me, squirming almost. My feet each split into three large toes, with hooked black claws, like some kind of dinosaur. I tumbled out of the bed, and raised my head on the end of a serpentine neck. My hair had become a mane, in a line from the center of my forehead to the base of my neck. I was fifteen feet tall, making me nearly as tall as Erebos. A forked black tongue flicked out in front of me, boy did I have the willies.  
"What did you do to me!?" I shrieked, in a voice that, surprisingly, had not changed despite my form.  
"I didn't do anything to you," Erebos stated. "You triggered a transformation. You can change your size, anywhere from the size of a small hawk, up to thirty feet. And, yes, you can change back to 'normal' at any time. Just picture yourself, and you'll change back." I pictured myself, and it reversed. I was standing there, naked, before Erebos. Heat rose up my neck and into my face. Fortunately, the dragon had turned away.  
"You should hide your draconic heritage from others. People in your realm are so glued to technology that they would never believe in magic. Your clothes are on the foot of the bed, come out when you're dressed." Erebos left the room through a great door, and disappeared from sight.  
On the foot of the bed there were clothes. Black leather pants that looked a bit medieval, a white, button-down silk shirt, and a pair of large black boots that came up to my calves. It all fit on very comfortably, as if it were tailor-made just for me. After I was dressed, I noticed a few other items on the bed. There was a black scabbard with silver designs woven around it. Next to the scabbard was the matching weapon. It was a sword, with a gleaming silver blade nearly three feet long. The rest of the sword was black, with a few silver patterns in it. The grip was soft velvet, wrapped with silver cords of cloth. The pommel was a dragon's claw, gripping a round, crimson crystal of some sort. The crystal seemed to glow with an almost eerie light.  
I strapped the scabbard over my chest, so it hung across my back. As I grabbed the sword, a faint purple mist began to drift from the sharp- looking blade. I could feel the power of the weapon prickling over my skin. The prickling was followed by warmth, as if the sword had become a part of me.  
Quickly, I placed the sword into its scabbard, and walked out of the room, into a gigantic hall. Erebos was waiting, but he was in some sort of human guise. His skin was pale as snow, but his long, wavy hair was like a shadow, blacker than night. His eyes looked almost exactly like mine.  
"I see that the Nightblade has bonded with you," he stated. "That sword was forged eons ago, over a magic flame. It chooses its wielder. If someone grabs it without your permission, it will burn their hand. It is also impossible for the blade to harm someone accidentally. So, if you mistakenly put it through yourself, it would make no wound." This was good news. At least I wouldn't be able to slice my hand off if I was playing around with the thing.  
"It is time for you to return home," Erebos continued. "Watch out for vampires and were animals. Most were creatures are decent enough, but some of them are forces to be reckoned with." A bright light surrounded me, and when it died, I was standing in my living room.  
There was a ring, and my phone immediately turned itself on. Signas's voice boomed over the speakers.  
"Shadowfire, there's been an attack on one of our outposts not far from your house. X and Zero were sent to investigate, meet them there." The phone turned off, and I sighed loudly.  
  
***  
  
The outpost had been bombed, and things were suspiciously quiet. X and Zero were somewhere around... Turning a corner, a wave of horror and rage washed over me. A crimson-armored Maverick with green eyes had his fingers gripped around X's head, holding him at arm's-length like some unsavory thing. X squirmed as the Maverick tightened his grip against his unprotected head, fingers starting to dig into the back of his skull.  
"Put him down!" I ordered, pointing the Dragonsmaw at the Maverick, who turned to face me.  
"I am Discord," the Maverick stated. "Better not shoot, wouldn't want to hit little X instead." I fired anyway. The Maverick jerked to the side fast, and I heard the sickening crack of X's neck breaking. Discord shrugged as he tossed X's body to the side.  
"Guess he isn't much use as a hostage anymore." The Maverick pulled something from the back of X's head, trailing a few fluid-covered strands of brown hair. It was a square-shaped electronic chip.  
"This is X's personality chip," Discord began. "His 'electronic soul', if you will." The Maverick's hand tightened, and crushed the chip into dust. He laughed...  
"At least he has his memories, Hunter." Hatred and rage made my body shudder. I wanted to do terrible things to this Maverick. Discord stared at me, his eyes horror-filled, as I transformed to a ten foot version of my dragon form. A deep-throated roar escaped my jaws, making the ground tremble.  
Discord started to run, and I caught up to him in one bounding leap. I pinned him under a clawed foot, and sank my teeth into his right shoulder. He screamed loudly as I tore the limb off, and swallowed it whole. I savored the sweet taste of the warm fluids in my mouth. I enjoyed picking him apart, piece by piece, and devouring most of his form.  
I was interrupted by a shout, and turned to face Zero. He was kneeling next to X, and staring up at me and shock. He watched closely as I transformed back, armor and all, then turned his attention back to X, who was staring upward blankly.  
"X, X..." Zero muttered, straining to hold back tears. He felt the bleeding hole in the back of X's head, and jerked his hand away. "Oh, God... No, no..."  
  
***  
  
Zero and I sat outside the lab where X was being repaired. The Crimson One had a searing glare aimed at me. Thankfully, the room was empty except for us.  
"I saw you," Zero growled. "I saw you turn into that... that thing. What the hell are you?" I was about to say something nasty when the door opened, and Gate stepped into view.  
"Well," the scientist began, "we have his body repaired... We can rebuild his personality chip. Thankfully, we have the data we need from recent scans. However, it will be a very delicate task. In the meantime, it would probably be best for all of us if you didn't see him at this stage." Not see him? Both Zero and I reacted instantaneously, shoving the scientist out of the way, and slamming the door open. X lay on a sterile metal work table. His eyes stared upward, but had no emotion behind them.  
"Talk to me, X," Zero said. Silence. "Say something, dammit!"  
"Something, dammit," X parroted obediently. It felt as if ice had hit my stomach. The coldness spread through me, followed by a wave of nausea. I rushed to the nearest bathroom, and heaved until there was nothing left. I could feel Zero's piercing gaze against my back.  
"Something you ate?" he snarled.  
"Shut up," I snapped in an irritated voice. "You seem to enjoy killing... mutilating already-dead bodies..." Zero started looking annoyed now.  
"Listen," he started, "I'll make a deal with you. I'll keep your little secret, if you help me with something." I had to keep that secret...  
"What do you want me to help you with?" I asked, hoping it didn't involve hiding a dead body.  
"Wily created me." The words hit me like a punch in the face. Built by a madman, no wonder he was so damn violent.  
"So, you're the original carrier of the Maverick Virus?" I asked. He nodded solemnly, and I could tell that it bothered him.  
"I'm starting to lose control more often. Wily's programming has enslaved me to savage acts. I want you to purge me of the programming." I blinked a few times.  
"There's no technology capable of doing that."  
"You've got something else," Zero began. "Magic, or some other kind of weird hocus-pocus. I hate the fact that I'm even believing what I saw was magic, but there's no other explanation. Use your magic, or whatever it is, to purge the program. The virus vaccines have been weakening me... I had one today, and I feel sick, now. So, purge the program, or, I'll report what I saw to Signas."  
  
***  
  
Zero sat on my living room couch, having blackmailed me into a deal. His helmet was tossed to the side.  
"I don't know how to do this, Zero."  
"Wing it, then." Sighing, I sat next to him, and got an idea.  
"Hold still," I ordered. He jerked a bit as I put a bare hand against the back f his head. He hated being touched, couldn't stand it, but he put up with me.  
I used a combination of magic and built-in technology to scan him for the program. Then, I found it. It felt like some kind of poison sitting in his mind, corrupting him in intervals. Part of him depended on that program, though. Removing it would be dangerous.  
"Zero," I said quietly, "removing the program could kill you."  
"I don't care," he growled. "It'd be better to die than live with this thing as long as I might exist." I started to protest, but was met with a glare.  
"Okay, okay..." I muttered, placing my hands on the sides of his head. I took in a deep breath, closed my eyes, and let my power pour over Zero, into him. He shuddered as my energy shot into him, pounding into the program, breaking it apart. I could hear my pulse thudding in my head, and it was mirrored precisely with Zero's own heartbeat. We had synchronized. The pain of the program corroding filled my body. We both screamed, and everything went black.  
  
***  
  
I opened my eyes and heard Zero groan quietly. His heartbeat no longer pounded in my ears. The synchronization had broken.  
"The program is destroyed..." I started wearily. "But, your dependency on the Maverick Virus remains... Once every couple months, you'll have to supply yourself with some virus to counteract the vaccines." Zero nodded groggily.  
"That really hurt," he started, "but it felt... liberating. If I weren't so damn worried about X, I'd hug you." I felt a sudden pang in the middle of my back, as if someone had stabbed me. Gate opened the door and walked right on in.  
"Shadowfire, I believe we've located your twin."  
  
***  
  
My 'twin' lay on a hospital bed, laying quietly. His face, his hair, even his scars, were a mirror image of mine. However, his irises were normal-sized, and deep crimson, as opposed to my gold-green. His feet were like large, furry black panther paws. Two pointed, furry black ears poked out from his hair. I knew somehow that he had wings and a tail but he was hiding them. On his left shoulder was a circuitry tattoo, "#01." Coincidence? I thought not.  
There were bandages on his back. A thought popped into my head. I turned to Gate and said, "earlier today, it felt like someone stabbed me in the back. How..?" Gate frowned thoughtfully.  
"Reploid twins, and, I know you are a Bioroid, are connected. When near each other, they can feel each other's pains, pleasures, and emotions. You received your scars from such a major trauma that the experience was transmitted to him, and thus, so were the wounds." My own twin had suffered needlessly because of me. I tried not to stare as he blinked groggily.  
"Why is he so quiet?" I asked.  
"We had to sedate him," Gate stated. "If we sedated him heavily, you'd be feeling very tired, yourself. But, slight sedation isn't enough to 'transmit' to you. Some Hunters found him while patrolling the slums of the space colony Neo Eurasia. He had been stabbed in the back by a Maverick attack drone. The scouts mistook him for you, and sent him here. Twins are activated at the exact same moment, so it's a mystery how you got separated. X says he doesn't even recall building you a twin. He doesn't even remember designing you, just constructing you." How could he possibly not remember designing me? Gate left the room suddenly, but returned after a very short time.  
"I just checked the main terminal," he started. "X's original design plans of you are hidden there, heavily encrypted... X had gone Maverick for a short period of time. You were designed in that period. He designed your brother later. You were built to be a Maverick." Built to be a Maverick?  
"No," I objected. "No, that's impossible." An alarm blared, and the main computer spoke.  
"Warning, there is a Maverick in room twenty of the medical bay. Proceed with caution, perpetrator is armed and extremely dangerous." I was in room twenty...  
"You set off the alarm on me!" I roared at Gate. Guards with guns poured into the room, all aiming at me.  
Gate ordered, "I don't want him harmed, just immobilized. I have to analyze him and see if he is a threat to us." The head guard nodded, and aimed at me, and fired. I leapt out of the way. The paralysis shot hit the wall, and dissipated. Four guards pinned me, unbuttoning the jacket of my black uniform. The head guard pressed his gun against my bare chest, and pulled the trigger. My main motor systems shut down, paralyzing my limbs. I could only move my neck and head.  
"Damn you, Gate!" I growled.  
The guards lifted me up, and carried me into Gate's lab, placing me on a metal table. They strapped me down tightly before leaving, as the paralysis was wearing off. I struggled against the straps, which appeared to be woven out of metal cords.  
"Don't bother," Gate started. "The straps are laced with Duranium. They're unbreakable." I resisted the urge to spit in his face, and tried to take things calmly.  
"How's X..?" I questioned.  
Gate gave a surprised look and said, "The personality chip is nearly complete." I nodded slowly. Images of X writhing helplessly in Discord's grip filled my mind. It made me shudder. Gate cocked an eyebrow.  
"I'm going to administer a sort of polygraph. You're going to sleep for a bit, and I'm going to show some things to your mind, while measuring the reactions of your body. It's currently the most accurate way to detect Maverick behavior. There are 125 data ports hidden underneath your skin. To do this, I need to tap into two of them." My eyes shifted around the room nervously.  
"Will it hurt?" I asked shakily. Gate smiled a bit.  
"No, you won't feel a thing. Mainly, because of this." He pressed a button, and a machine lowered down from the ceiling. It flashed a bright light into my eyes. I couldn't look away, and felt like a deer, staring into the high beams of an oncoming Mack truck. The beam became a soft blue color, and the images started. Images of people I knew, places I'd been. Then, an image of Discord. The memory of the pain he had caused X flashed behind my eyes. Rage flooded me, a hatred so pure it scared me. I pictured the sadistic tortures I would have liked to have inflicted upon the Maverick.  
The beam turned off, the images stopped, and Gate looked shocked. Was I Maverick?  
"You passed," Gate stated. "You're not a Maverick."  
Looking down at myself, I saw a cable going through my chest, connecting to one of my data ports. I could feel the other cable in the back of my head. The cables were still running. Looking at the computer screens, I saw what they were doing. They were pulling out my memories. I had to stop it before memories of Erebos popped in.  
"Gate, leave my memory core alone," I demanded. He raised an eyebrow as if he didn't know what I was talking about. I struggled against the straps, but they wouldn't budge the slightest bit.  
"Stop it Gate, now!" I yelled. He paid no attention, just staring at the data on the screens. My entire memory was being copied into a video file.  
I strained as hard as I could against my restraints, and could hear them straining back. The straps made a terrible ripping sound as they tore. The force disconnected the chest cable, the data port on my body closed, becoming invisible once more.  
Gate looked at me in utter shock. I tried to pull the other cable from the back of my head, but it was locked into place. Walking over to the computers, I spotted where the cable was hooked to some machines. Gate yelled in protest as I pulled the cable free of the computer, and the other end fell out from the back of my head.  
Gate yelled at me as I exited the room. I had pissed him off, and I didn't care.  
  
***  
  
Quietly, I stepped into my brother's hospital room, wearing my Hunters uniform. It had been a couple days, and Techno appeared to be staring at the ceiling. I leaned over him. He wrapped his arms around me suddenly, and pulled himself up to hold himself against me. I put an arm around him as he started crying softly.  
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Eric watching from the doorway.  
"Can he leave the med center?" I asked him quietly.  
"Yes," Eric replied, smiling slightly. Carefully, I picked my brother up from the bed, holding him like a small child, and exited the building.  
  
"I never knew I had a brother..." Techno started. "Hell, I didn't even know who my creator was, where I was built, anything... One day, when I was a few weeks old... I was standing on one of the piers of the harbor in New York City. It was late out, and I had been leaning over the railing to look at the ocean. There was a sudden pain in my chest... like something stabbing me..." The pain enhancement injections. I had transmitted the pain to him. "I was in shock, and I fell over the railing, and landed in the water. I felt two more stabs, and it hurt so bad I couldn't swim. I fell unconscious in the ocean, and woke up in a hospital three weeks later with a bunch of lash marks on me, having never been hit. The doctors said I had been dragged out of the water by a fishing net, and that I had been suffering from nightmares. I guess I was experiencing what had happened to you..."  
"Yeah," I muttered, driving through the forest. Rain pattered softly against the windshield. The house came into view.  
Techno gasped. "Whoa," he started. "That's your house?"  
I chuckled quietly, and said, "Yes. It gets a little lonely sometimes, though. It'll be nice to have someone else around for a change."  
I parked the car, and opened the front door of the house for my brother. He stepped in hesitantly. Midnight rushed over to us, wanting to play Techno peered at him curiously.  
"This your cat?" he asked.  
"Yeah," I replied. "Midnight. Be careful, though. The little scamp loves to play with long hair." Techno laughed softly, and a long, furry black panther tail appeared behind him. There were also great feathered wings. The wings were black, but the tips of the biggest flight feathers were metallic blue. Midnight looked up at him, as if pondering whether to attack. I went to the kitchen quickly, to get us both some Coke.  
"So," I started, "did they catch the Mavericks that hurt you?" Techno looked at me, and tilted his head slightly.  
"Mavericks didn't attack me," he stated. "Humans did." I got a confused look. "Are you really so sheltered?" Techno continued. "Don't you ever watch the news? Do you ever read the paper? There are two major Reploid hate groups: Humans First, and Life Society. They hate us because they think we aren't capable of having souls, that we're nothing more than walking circuit heaps that will go Maverick." He had to be lying, had to be.  
"That's not funny, Techno," I growled.  
"No. No, it isn't," he retorted, "but it's true." Techno picked up the remote for the TV, and turned it to the news. The picture was that of three bodies being hauled away in bags. Black fluids were smeared on all of the sacks, and an arm hung out of one, a Reploid arm.  
"This is the fourth such case this week," a female newscaster, not in view, started. "A group of law enforcement Reploids found decapitated, their vital parts removed." Techno turned the TV off, and I stared at the blank screen.  
"They won't even be given a Police burial," Techno growled. "Sure, they'll put up a cross, then they'll strip the body for useful parts, and melt down the rest to be recycled, like a beat-up old car."  
"Recycled into what?" I asked.  
"Anything," Techno muttered. I looked at the Coke can I was holding, labeled '100% recycled metal.' Suddenly I didn't feel so thirsty. Sleep sounded good, though.  
  
EPILOGUE  
  
I was happy to have a brother. It made me not feel so alone. However, part of me still felt empty. And part of me will always be scarred.  
  
To Be Continued 


End file.
